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pool. Thus, not only did our warships safely pass
through the enemy's mine field, but they remained un
harmed in Germany's nearest home waters for nearly
three hours, and safely re-embarked three out of the
seven air pilots together with their machines. Three
others of the flying officers, who returned later, were
picked up by British submarines which were standing by
for that purpose, whilst their machines were ensured
against future use by the enemy by their being sunk.
The names of the pilots who entered on this
stirring raid, were: Flight Commanders Douglas A.
Oliver, Francis E. T. Hewlett, Robert P. Ross, and
Cecil F. Kilner; Flight Lieutenants Arnold J. Miley and
Charles H. K. Edmonds; and Flight Sub-Lieutenant
Vivian Gaskell Blackburn.
While there is much cause for congratulation in the
result of the raid, and in the fact that of this gallant band
six succeeded in returning safe and sound, yet it is with
the greatest concern that no news at present has come to
hand of the safety of Flight Commander F. E. T.
Hewlett, whose machine is said to have been seen in a
wrecked condition about eight miles from Heligoland.
There is a possibility that he may have been picked up
by one of the enemy's ships, although too much reliance
cannot be placed upon this ray of hope ; and whilst
wishing that Flight Commander Hewlett may still be
heard from, we, in the meantime, offer our sincerest con
dolence to those left to mourn his loss, and we trust that
they may be able to find some degree of consolation in
the fact that he has given his life for his King and
Country. To his mother, Mrs. Maurice Hewlett—one
of the few lady pilots of the world—it must come as a
great blow, as it is due to her splendid work and
enthusiasm as a pioneer in aviation that her son was
initiated into the art of flying, thus opening up his
career, which may now have passed its final and glorious,
if sad, stage.
• • •
The raid stands out in marked contrast
of the from the attacks in wrncn the Prussian
Raid. Huns have recently been indulging. Un
like them, we have deliberately denied
ourselves any advantage that might be gained by
ignoring civilised conventions, and have been content to
wage war according to the accepted rules of modern
warfare. Consequently, the nation may take a legitimate
pride in the brilliant attack on that section of the
German Navy which has so long been hiding itself safely
in the vicinity of Cuxhaven, and may sincerely trust that
some of the bombs that our men left behind them suc
ceeded in reducing the efficiency of one or more of the
vessels.
The raid was probably assisted, and yet, at the same
time, possibly robbed of some of its effect, by the fog
which hung over the mouth of the Elbe, for unfortunately,
to use the words of the official report, " the extent of
the damage by the British airmen's bombs cannot be
estimated." Enlightenment on this point is not forth
coming from the German press, which, ominously, has
had remarkably little to say upon the subject. The
enemy, just as was announced in the case of our aerial
visits to Diisseldorf and Friedrichshafen, officially claims
that no damage or injury was done. As in the previous
cases, we may beg leave to doubt these official utterances,
especially as, in this case, telegrams from Denmark and
Holland agree that they are not in accordance with facts.
Although some of the bombs dropped may not have
found their billet, there can be little question that some
JANUARY I, 1915-
at least did fall on points of military significance. It is
unofficially reported, for example, that several German
warships, which were the main objective of the raid,
were damaged, and that we also succeeded in destroying
an airship and its shed. One Zeppelin is also believed
to have been hit by a shell from one of our cruisers.
The view has been expressed in some quarters that
such raids have no practical military value; on the other
hand, there are those who consider the attack on
Cuxhaven to be the best strategical move we have thus
far made. Whatever view be taken, the exploit was one
of the most noteworthy yet recorded in the history of
aviation as a branch of naval operations, and it may be
safely assumed that the purpose for which it was under
taken was achieved. While we do not suggest that such
raids will have a decisive effect on the duration of the
war—the final issue resting, as hitherto, on the seas with
ships of the line, and on land with legions of infantry
and batteries of artillery—yet the moral effect on the
enemy and its people is extremely important, bringing
home to them, as it does, the fact that raiding—other
than women and children slaughtering—is not the
monopoly of Germany. Moreover, the suddenness and
unexpectedness with which we have shown them that two
can play at the game of dashing adventures has already
created the greatest uneasiness in the so-called Home of
Kulture.
Nothing could have been more opportune than this
incident as a commentary of the German Grand Admiral's
recent high-flown statements that the German naval
forces have the command of the seas which separate the
United Kingdom from Northern Europe.
There was plenty of opportunity for the German fleet
to make good their claim, for this exploit was not an un
dertaking of the German variety as exemplified by the
bombarding of unfortified towns on our North-Eastern
Coast, but was an enterprise directed towards, and
strictly confined to, legitimate war ends. In other words,
it was no lightning - knock on an undefended door,
followed by a rapid flight for safety, but a well conceived
and calmly carried out hostile visit of three hours'
duration, during which British flying officers forged their
way over the German harbours and warships.
Thanks to its mastery of the seas, our Navy, as it has
once again shown, can select its own moment to send its
seaplanes, its cruisers, and its submarines, across the
North Sea, and Germany cannot say it nay. Indeed,
one of the striking features of the raid, and one that says
little for the reputed bravery and daring of the German
Navy, is that not a single enemy battleship, cruiser, or
destroyer put in an appearance during the attack. Nor
is the fact that the bombs and torpedoes directed at the
British vessels all fell harmlessly into the water without
its significance.
«• <*. «•
Romance ^e Cuxhaven raid marks the first em-
Outrivalled ployment of the seaplanes of the Naval
by Air Service in an attack on the enemy's
Modern harbours from the sea, and, apart altogether
from the results achieved, is an occasion
of historical moment. Not only so, but for the first time
in history a naval attack has been delivered simultaneously
above, on, and from below the surface of the water.
The exploit has caused a thrill of patriotism through
out the length and breadth of the Empire, showing, as it
does, that the old spirit of our seafaring forefathers still
exists. With our cruisers, swiftly manoeuvring to avoid
the German submarines and their torpedos, while, at the